TNN | Hiren Kotwani | Feb 4, 2016, 12.00AM IST
Pahlaj Nihalani, chairperson of CBFC, however, maintains that they are not being unreasonable.
Till barely a few years ago, adult comedies
were lucrative box office propositions, following the success of 'Kyaa
Kool Hain Hum,' 'Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum' and 'Grand Masti.' However,
with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) recommending a lot
of cuts to certify movies like 'Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3' (KKHH3) and
'Mastizaade,' the genre seems to have taken a beating. The latest is
that the CBFC has refused certification to 'Great Grand Masti' on
grounds of its adult content being too hot to handle. Industry folks
attribute the rigidity to the current chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani, who,
they feel is going overboard by following the archaic guidelines.
Prasoon Joshi does not support Sunny Leone's profession!
Tusshar, who starred in 'KKHH3' (that was also his home production),
says the recent censorship has come down strongly on this genre.
"Distributors of 'KKHH3' told us the audience felt it was like a normal
film and despite the 'A' rating, there was barely anything adult in it,
unlike the first two instalments. The 100-plus cuts affected the film,"
he says. With a few outrageous gestures, skimpily-clad women and
suggestive oohs and aahs, 'KKHH3,' which positioned itself as India's
first porn-com, lacked the porn and the com.
Rangita Nandy,
producer of 'Mastizaade,' which got its censor certificate after six
months of going to Examining Committee (EC), Revising Committee (RC) and
also Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), says, "Even today,
it's difficult to make an adult comedy. We will always have a section of
people saying this is the wrong kind of film for the social fabric of
the country. However, as long as there's an audience for such movies, we
will keep making them."
Mahesh Bhatt believes his colleagues
must stop complaining about the Censor Board's recommended deletion or
revision. He says, "Even though we asked for an 'A' certificate for
'Love Games,' the EC asked for 18 cuts. That wasn't acceptable to us so
we approached the FCAT, which cleared our film with an 'A' certificate
and no cuts."
Though Tusshar concedes that CBFC members are
doing their job and following prescribed guidelines, he also points out
that the Board was considerably liberal and flexible a couple of years
ago. He adds, "In lieu of the recent censorship of adult comedies, I
would think twice before making another one. And after all the
deletions, it will cease to be an 'adult comedy'. It will merely be an
'A'-certified film."
Bhatt feels filmmakers should not be bullied by the Censor Board. He
explains, "We want them to roll the red carpet and make things easier
for us, which they won't. If you don't agree with the EC, you should go
to the FCAT, which is more enlightened, independent, mature and
dispassionate about its views. If you knock that door, I'm certain that
despite the constraints of their guidelines, you will get away far
easier there."
Listen to Mastizaade songs on Gaana.com
Rangita's film was refused certification by even the FCAT before she
began the entire exercise again. They finally got a certificate after
agreeing to the 32 cuts asked for by the Censor Board. She says, "Though
we have made adult films like 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi' and 'Chameli'
before, 'Mastizaade' was our first adult comedy. There was so much
conversation about our film that this censorship issue was blown out of
proportion." When asked if she would make another adult comedy despite
the censor hurdles, she says, "Hell, yeah!"
However, Pahlaj
Nihalani, chairperson CBFC, maintains that they view and certify films
on the basis of the content they get. "We don't know what the original
content is and are not concerned with it. We see only what the producer
submits. You should ask the producers how many cuts they made in their
films before submission and how many cuts we asked for. They are the
content providers, not us. If you check the complete history of the
film's certification, you will see that we are not being unreasonable."
Given the current scenario, we wonder when our India audience will be treated to an all-out sex-comedy?
We always knew that there was room for two heroines opposite Jackie Chan in 'Kung Fu Yoga'. News has just come in that other than Amyra Dastur,